In the increasingly crowded and competitive corporate and financial ecosystem, it’s harder than ever for companies to break through the clutter and be heard. The media, investors, agenda-driven influencers, even customers and competitors, are defining your business story on their terms. Therefore, it is imperative that companies take control and proactively drive the conversation with stakeholders in an effort to build & maintain equity value. In Welcome to the Arena from ICR, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of ICR, Tom Ryan, interviews key business and financial players who influence the fate of public or aspiring public companies in the capital markets. As a former Wall Street Journal ranked sell-side equity analyst and the founder of one of the largest strategic communications firms in the world, Tom understands what it takes to navigate this complex environment. This is a forum for CEOs, CFOs, institutional investors, sell-side analysts, financial journalists, private equity professionals and other financial community participants to share their stories and give advice in an open and candid conversation. For more information, visit http://www.icrinc.com
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What is Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders?
Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 241 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 84. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
About the host
Unknown Host hosts Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders, a business show with 241 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #242
Max Martin, Co-founder & CEO, Enhanced — Let The Games Begin: How a competition involving the safe use of performance-enhancing substances builds trust among elite athletes and average consumers
Aug 19, 202629 min
The health and wellness space is crowded, with a lot of companies selling products that they claim will keep you healthier and more active into old age. To differentiate themselves, one company has organized an entire sporting event featuring elite athletes, but with a twist: competitors are allowed to use performance enhancing substances. Max Martin is the Co-founder and CEO of Enhanced, an elite sports competition and performance products company that trades on the NYSE under the symbol ENHA. With a unique background spanning technology, investment banking at Morgan Stanley, and entrepreneurial leadership, Max brings a distinctive perspective on building and scaling disruptive businesses at the intersection of technology, finance, and emerging markets. Today, Max takes us inside Enhanced, their groundbreaking sporting event, their unique product offerings, and why the emergence of peptides could create major tailwinds for the business. Highlights: What is Enhanced and How It Started (2:20) The Enhanced Games Explained (10:05) A Billion Eyeballs on Year One (11:25) Athletes as a Customer Acquisition Engine (12:50) The Peptide Opportunity (14:45) How to Become a Customer (17:05) Standing Out in a Crowded Market (20:25) How Big Is the Market (22:35) Why Enhancement Is for Everyone (25:05) What's Next for Enhanced (27:00) Links: Max Martin LinkedIn Enhanced LinkedIn Enhanced Website ICR LinkedIn ICR Twitter ICR Website Feedback: If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co
Sami Inkinen, Co-founder & CEO, Virta Health — Reversing Diabetes: How nutrition and technology are rewriting what’s possible in metabolic health (Re-broadcast)
Aug 12, 202634 min
As we continue to work on some new episodes for you, please enjoy this episode from June featuring Sami Inkinen, the co-founder and CEO of Virta Health. Summary: The medical establishment spent decades telling patients that type 2 diabetes is a chronic and irreversible disease. Today’s guest decided to prove them wrong. Sami Inkinen is the co-founder and CEO of Virta Health, a company using a combination of nutrition science, remote monitoring technology, and individualized coaching to help patients reverse type 2 diabetes, obesity and other metabolic conditions. Previously, Sami co-founded Trulia, the online real estate marketplace, serving as COO and president through its IPO and eventual sale to Zillow. He has also held roles at Microsoft and McKinsey, and rowed from California to Hawaii with his wife to raise awareness of the dangers of sugar. Sami joins us to talk about how his own health journey influenced his decision to start Virta, the challenges of scaling in the health space, and the incredible success they’ve had in treating metabolic disease. Highlights: A personal pre-diabetes diagnosis (2:35) Lessons from Trulia (6:00) Why reversal, not management (9:30) Clinical results and outcomes (12:47) GLP-1s and Virta’s approach (15:26) Technology and personalization (17:33) Selling to employers (20:17) Overcoming the status quo (22:33) Building a full-stack team (25:15) Rowing California to Hawaii (28:30) Goals for ‘26 into ‘27 (30:58) Links: Sami Inkinen LinkedIn Virta Health LinkedIn Virta Health Website ICR LinkedIn ICR Twitter ICR Website Feedback: If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you’d like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co
Mike Silvestrini, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Energea — High Yield and High Impact: Bringing clean energy to emerging markets, and generating incredible returns for investors (Re-broadcast)
Aug 5, 202634 min
As we take a short production break for summer we'll be re-releasing some old favorites, including this episode from back in June, featuring Mike Silvestrini, the co-founder and Managing Partner of Energea. Enjoy! Show Notes: Investing in clean energy infrastructure in emerging markets sounds more altruistic than profitable. But today's company shows that doing the right thing can also be incredibly lucrative. Mike Silvestrini, co-founder and Managing Partner of Energea, a US-based renewable energy investment platform. Mike's a seasoned renewable energy professional who has played a central role in developing over 500 solar projects across the US, Brazil, and Africa, contributing meaningfully to the global transition to clean energy. Today, we talk to Mike about how Energea evaluates investment opportunities, how they mitigate risk, and the incredible differences he's been able to make in different regions around the world. Highlights: Where the idea for Energea came from (2:20) How the platform functions (5:58) The types of deals Energea pursues (7:30) The minimum investment in Energea (9:52) Investment portfolios (11:53) Brazil (13:33) Investor Relations (15:27) Energea's Wealth Management Channel (18:32) Vetting new deals (19:45) Big institutional partners — Brookfield & Goldman Sachs (22:20) Community impact (24:23) Life perspective (28:16) Emerging Markets (30:11) Goals for '26 into '27 (31:37) Links: Mike Silvestrini LinkedIn Energea LinkedIn Energea Website ICR LinkedIn ICR Twitter ICR Website Feedback: If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co
Jeremy Morgan, CEO, American Family Care — Not Just Emergencies: How a national network of urgent care clinics is expanding their services to meet patient needs
Jul 29, 202630 min
Historically, urgent care clinics were places you only went to treat acute injuries, but people are now turning to them for a growing slate of non-emergency medical services. And for operators in the space, that's creating a huge amount of opportunity. Jeremy Morgan is the CEO of American Family Care, the nation's leading provider of urgent care with nearly 400 walk-in clinics across the United States. AFC's team of over 3,500 highly trained healthcare professionals deliver care to more than four million patients annually, driving system-wide sales exceeding a billion dollars. Jeremy joins us to discuss how changes in American healthcare are impacting AFC's growth prospects, their approach to franchising, and how they're leveraging technology to deliver fast, convenient, and high quality healthcare to the communities they serve. Highlights: Why Jeremy Joined AFC (2:20) Urgent Care as a Retail Business (4:00) What Makes AFC Different (6:22) Taking Over a Founder's Business (8:26) The Three-Stage Growth Plan (10:48) Building the Leadership Team (12:58) Going All-In on AI (17:36) The Case for Franchising with AFC (20:10) Buying Out the Competition (25:39) Links: Jeremy Morgan LinkedIn AFC LinkedIn AFC Website ICR LinkedIn ICR Twitter ICR Website Feedback: If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co
David Cantu, CEO, Craftable — Solving Margin Drift: How Craftable is giving hospitality operators real-time visibility into where the money is going
Jul 15, 202627 min
Summary: In a restaurant, food and labor account for 60 to 65 cents of every dollar spent, and there are a lot of ways to lose money when you’re not watching them closely. Most back-office tools only tell operators what went wrong after the fact; today’s company gives them a clear picture of what’s happening right now, and what it will cost them if they don’t do anything about it. David Cantu is the CEO of Craftable, one of the hospitality industry’s leading SaaS profit management platforms. He’s been in the industry for approximately 35 years — starting in operations at P.F. Chang’s, co-founding HotSchedules, and most recently serving as CEO of Black Box Intelligence. Today, David walks us through how Craftable works, what they’re most focused on as they look to automate the back-office workflow, and why you can’t manage costs at the expense of the customer experience. Highlights: Hooked from the first shift (2:08) From P.F. Chang's to HotSchedules (2:52) How David came to Craftable (6:40) The back-office workflow, explained (9:21) Scale and ideal customer (11:40) Staying operator-first (13:40) Actual vs. theoretical (17:37) Cost discipline vs. guest experience (20:09) Texas Roadhouse and playing the long game (23:18) What's next for Craftable (24:29) Links: David’s LinkedIn Craftable LinkedIn Craftable Website ICR LinkedIn ICR Twitter ICR Website Feedback: If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co
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